Method for making fibrous materials



March 28, 1950 A. H. ZEEGLER 2,502,331

METHOD FOR MAKING FIBROUS MATERIALS Filed March 25, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheetl INVEIYTOR. Lg B d/[JC/f/j/Z gl March 28, 1950 A. H.'ZEIGLER METHOD FORMAKING FIBROUS MATERIALS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 25, 1945 INVENTOR.

arch 28, 1950 A. H. ZEKGLER METHOD FOR MAKING FIBROUS MATERIALS 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 25, 1943 -pliSh these purposes.

Patented M... 2 1950 METHOD FOR MAKING FIBROUS MATERIALS *Albefl; 'H.Zeigler, Evanston, Ill., assignor to Armour and Company, Chicago, 111.,a corporation of Illinois Application March 25, 1943, Serial No. 480,545Claims. (Cl. 154-- 33) This invention relates to a method and improvedapparatus for making fibrous materials such as mats of padding materialssuitable for upholstery and the like.

In the manufacture of padding materials such as curled hair mats, thecurled hair, for example, is customarily fed manually to a pickermachine which combs out knots and throws it into the hopper of aspreader machine which by means of a toothed roll throws it more or lessevenly on the moving table of the conveyor. Asthe layer of hair passesalong on the conveyor it may be sprayed with latex or other rubberdispersion and later may be heated to vulcanize the rubber composition.

It is well known that the layer of fibrous material formed in thismanner is variable in thickness because of more hair being distributedat some points than at others and this objection has heretofore beenunavoidable. Where the requirements of use have demanded that thepadding mat have uniform thickness, this has sometimes been approachedby calendering the mats usually after coating with the rubber dispersionso as to squeeze them somewhat to a uniform thickness. However, thispractice is unsatisfactory in that the fibers tend to spring back totheir former thickness after calendering and compressing of the fiberstends to impair the cushioning qualities of the pad materials. Anotherpractice is to cut or saw the product to the required thickness, butobviously this is a tedious and wasteful expedient.

An ob ect of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus forforming a mat of padding material which is uniform in thickness andwhich avoids the difiiculties above mentioned. A further object is toprovide method and means for forming such mats in a continuous manner.

Another object is to provide a method and apparatus for form ng mats offibrous material having an improved surface structure; more specificallyit is desired to provide a way to work the surface fibers closertogether and to place more of them side by side in interlocked relation,and it is also desired to provide a way to bring more of the surfacefibers to a position normal with the surface of the mat so that, in thecase of curled hair, for example. the plane of the curls will not lieparallel with the surface of the mats but will be normal to or at anangle with the plane of the pad. It is also desired to provide apparatuswhich would effectively accom- Other objects and advantages will appearas the specification proceeds.

One form of the improved apparatus and suitable for carrying out theprocess of this invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a part of a spreading machine which embodiesthis invention. A mat of curled hair is shown passing through themachine, with a part being broken away to show the conveyor.

Fig. 2 is a side view in elevation particularly showing the drivingmechanism.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken in the center of the machineas shown at line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a detailed sectional view taken as seen from line 44 of Fig. 2and showing the roll oscillat ng mechanism.

As illustrated, A designates a conveyor; B, a pair of feed rolls; and C,a roll for applying desred surface characteristics to the web or pad.

The conveyor A provides a moving table ,on which the fibrous materialisto be distributed, and may be of any suitable type. As here shown, itis an endless belt of metal slats which moves about end pu leys, one ofwhich is shown in Fig. 2 and designated by the character to. Thisconvevor may be powered by any suitable means.

The frame of the machine includes the two side members I l and I2; andthe rolls and necessary driving pulleys, etc.. are suitably mounted onor journaled in these side frame members.

For introducin the fibrous material to this aparatus an inclined bottompiece I 3 provides w th the sides II and I2 a kind of chute down which te loo e mater al s ides. Instead of the solid bottom piece l3 a beltconveyor could be substituted if so desired.

Receiving the fibers from this chute is the roll I 4 which has ts ends.iournaled in the sides II and I2 and which has fine teeth about itscylindrical surface. As shown in Fig. 3, this roll is located directlyunder the edge of the chute and is rotated in a clockwise direction soas to receive and pass the fibers forwardly and downwardly about itsperipheral surface. A second roll l5 located forwardly of roll II hasits ends journaled in sides II and I2 and is rotated in a directioncounter to roll it. This second roll is s aced from roll l4 and is alsoprovided with fine teeth which extend back to cooperate with roll I 4for picking apart and distributing the fibers to some extent.

Below rolls l4 and [5 are the feed rolls B which include a rear rolldesignated B1, and a forward roll designated B2. These rolls arecylindrical and I have found it advantageous that they have specialcoatings. An eflicient coating is obtained when the rolls are coveredwith a fabric such as canvas, and the canvas then given a coating of adrying composition such as shellac. Such a coating provides the surfacewhich enables the rolls to move the fibers, but at the same timeprevents the sticking or retention of the fibers on the rolls. Theserolls arespaced apart and above the conveyor, and preferably at leastroll B2 is adjustable with respect to the conveyor so as to accommodatevarious thicknesses of fibrous mats. Each of these rolls have their endsjournaled in the end pieces II and I2. As seen by the arows in Fig. 3,roll B1 is rotated in a clockwise direction and roll B2 in acounterclockwise direction. The fibers from rolls [4 and I5 fall downinto the space above and between these rolls B, the rolls forming a kindof hopper. The fibers pass downwardly between rolls B to the conveyortop, pass under roll B2, and then proceed forwardly with the conveyor.

The laterally moving roll C, located forwardly on the machine, has itsends journaled in sides H and I2 and is spaced above the conveyor sothat its bottom surface contacts the top of the fibrous layer as thelayer passes on the conveyor. Preferably this roll is covered in thesame manner as described in connection with rolls B to provide a betterworking surface. The roll is positioned so that its axis is lateral toand preferably at an angle of 90 with the direction of movement of theconveyor. Each of rolls B, and rolls l4 and I5 also preferably havetheir axes parallel and at a 90 angle with the direction of the movementof the conveyor.

Any suitable means may be provided for driving the conveyor and thevarious rolls. In the embodiment illustrated the conveyor is driventhrough the end pulley at the forward end (not shown) corresponding withpulley l0, and shaft [6 (see Figs. 2 and 4) is powered by the conveyorthrough gear mechanism 36. Shaft l6 drives the shaft I! of roll C, andalso through l8 and I9 drives the shaft 20 of roll B1, and also theshaft 2| of roll B2. Thus rolls B and C are rotated in synchronizationwith the movement of the conveyor. Advantageously, these rolls arerotated at a speed such that their surface moves at the same peripheralspeed as the lineal speed of the conveyor, though under some conditionsthey may be rotated at a slightly greater rate. Rolls B2 and C must, ofcourse, be rotated in a direction such that their bottom surfaces movein the same direction as the conveyor. The direction of movement of theconveyor and the rolls is illustrated by arrows in Fig. 3.

The rolls l4 and i5 may be powered by any suitable source asillustrated, the electric motor 22 drives the shaft 23 of roll it, andshaft 23 drives the shaft 24 of roll l5 through the shaft 25. Thus rollsM and I5 are driven by the motor, the arrangement being such that therolls are driven in opposite directions with roll i4 being rotated in adirection to move its top portion forwardly.

The mechanism for imparting lateral motion to roll C is driven throughshafts 23, 26, and 27. The shaft 21 drives shaft 29 through beveledgears 30, and secured to shaft 29 is the cam member 3| containing thepin 32. A rocker arm 33 is pivotally mounted at 34, has its upper yokeportion engaged about the end of shaft of roll 0,

and has a slotted lower portion which is engaged by pin 32. Rotation ofcam member 3| produces rocking motion of arm 33 which causes lateraloscillating motion of the roll C.

In the operation of the machine, the fibrous material such as curledanimal hair passes down the chute formed by bottom l3 onto the top ofroll l4. Passing forwardly and downwardly on this roll it is picked andthrown apart and passed downwardly by action of roll IS in associationwith roll ll. The fibers then fall into the "hopper formed by rolls B,and the rotation of rolls B tends to pull down the fibers forming theminto a substantially even layer which passes onto the conveyor and aboutthe periphery of roll B: being passed between roll B2 and the conveyor.Desirably, the spaces between the rolls 3 and between roll B2 and theconveyor are substantially less than the intended thickness of thefinished sheets so that these rolls exert more of an evening action asthe layer is formed.

The fibrous layer passing forward on the conveyor comes to the roll 0and passes between this roll and the conveyor. This roll is preferablyadjustable so that the space between it and the conveyor can be set at adistance somewhat less than the intended final thickness of the sheet.

It will be remembered that roll C is moved both rotationally andaxially, being rotated through the pulley I1 and axially reciprocated byarm 33 and its accompanying mechanism.

When approaching roll C the fibrous layer has its top fibers in a loosecondition, many of them lying loosely on 'top each other without beingsecured or held fast, and a majority of them assume a substantiallyhorizontal position. In the case of curled animal hair a majority of thetop curls are lying flat, i. e., with the plane of the curlsubstantially parallel with the plane of the mat surface.

As the fibrous material passes under roll C, this roll brushes thesurface fibers laterally. one effect of this is to work the surfacefibers closer together in interlocked relation, and another effect is tobring many of the fibers which formally were lying flat into a positionmore nearly normal with the plane of the sheet. Thus in the case ofcurled hairs, many of the surface curls are turned so that the plane ofthe curl is no longer parallel with the surface of the mat. Since theroll C also rotates at a speed synchronized with the speed of theconveyor this latter brushing effect is accomplish"d without disturbanceof the general form of the mat.

The mechanism for driving roll C in reciprocating motion may be arrangedto produce oscillation of any desired frequency. I have found that ifthis roll is reciprocated at about 60 to times per minute this will besatisfactory, but other rates may be used.

Moving on from roll C the fibrous mat may be cut and shipped for use asupholstery material, or any other use. 0r, desirably, it may be sprayedwith a rubber dispersion from a spray nozzle such as nozzle 31 in Fig.3, and the pad thus treated vulcanized as in the prior practice.

The method of forming the mat according to this invention isspecifically advantageous where the mats are sprayed or otherwisetreated with dispersions of reclaimed rubber. latex stock is used forcoating of fibers in the prior practice as heretofore stated, it wassometimes practical to compress the sheet to the desired thickness afterthe coating is applied, and

Where fresh in such case the natural tackiness of the latex would aid inretaining this shape until the mat was vulcanized, but when dispersionsof reclaimed rubber were used this practice was not availing. Therefore,it is quite important that, especially when using reclaimed rubber, thethickness of the fiber layer as formed be closely controlled.

The omission of a calendering step after coating and the rearrangementof thesurface fibers through reciprocating action produces a moredesirable surface on any coated fibrous mat. And, independently of anycoating, the rearrangement of the surface fibers produces a desirableeffect since in their new relation the surface fibers are less easilybrushed off from the main body of the mat and offer increasedresiliency.

The improved method and apparatus are especially advantageous inconnection with curled hair upholstery mats for the reasons heretoforeindicated and also are useful in connection with other fibrousmaterials, for instance, coconut fiber, sisal, etc.

The foregoing detaileddescription is given for the purpose ofexplanation only and is not to be understood in a limiting sense. It isexpected that many changes may be made in the process and apparatus bythose skilled in the art without departing from the principles andspirit of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of forming a mat of curled fibers, said fibers each being inarcuate form and disposed substantially in-a single plane comprisingdistributing the fibers in a layer, and while passing the layer along inone general direction subjecting fibers at the upper surface of saidlayer to movement in a direction lateral to said general some of thefibers at the top of said layer to a reciprocating movement in adirection lateral to said direction whereby individual fibers in a topsurface of said layer are brought into a position in which the planes oftheir curls are to a greater extent out of alignment with the plane ofthe surface of the mat.

'4. A method as set forth in claim 3 wherein said fibers are curled hoghairs.

5. A method of forming a mat of curled hog hairs, said hairs each beingin arcuate form and disposed substantially in a single plane, comprisingdistributing said hairs in a layer, and while passing the layer in onegeneral direction subjecting some of the hairs at the top of said layerto a reciprocating movement in a direction lateral to said directionwhereby individual hair curls in a. top surface of said layer arebrought into a position in which the planes of their curls are to agreater extent out of alignment with the plane of the surfaceof the mat,treating the layer thus formed with a liquid rubber dispersion, andwithout compressing the hairs after such treatment subjecting the mat toheat treatment to vulcanize the rubber dispersion.

. ALBERT H. ZEIGLER.

REFERENCES QITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 27,345 Bloodgood et al. Mar. 6,1860 1,164,591 Alexander Dec. 14, 1915 1,321,576 Wakeman Nov. 11, 19191,612,732 Kinne Dec. 28, 1926 1,679,100 Sturgis July 31, 1928 1,777,231Shepard Sept. 30, 1930 2,093,709 Casse Sept. 21, 1937 2,122,473 HurstJuly 5. 1938 2,154,476 Simpson et a1 Apr. 18, 1939 2,206,059 SlayterJuly 2, 1940 2,245,874 Robinson June 17, 1941 2,385,873 Melton Oct. 2,1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 15,012 Great Britain 1885375,540 Great Britain June 30, 1932 771,513

France July 30, 1934

